WASHINGTON TWP. — When the ball left Justin Keegan’s bat in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday afternoon, he didn’t think it was going to get out of the ballpark at Washington Township High School.

But it cleared the fence, and the Williamstown junior’s blast on a 3-2 pitch wound up giving his team a chance at the upset of the host Minutemen in the final of the Grand Slam Classic.

Keegan’s three-run homer keyed a five-run sixth inning as the Braves rallied to tie the score, then completed the comeback with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the tournament, 9-8.

“The kid was throwing really good, but he was coming right over the top and his pitches were easy to see,” Keegan said of his game-changing at-bat. “It came off the bat sweet, but I didn’t think it had a chance.”

Coming into the game on a three-game losing streak, Williamstown (6-5 overall) looked out of it until Keegan’s bomb to left-center. Frank D’Alessandro added an RBI single, then scored on Nick Martinez’s base hit to tie the game at 7-all.

Township (10-3), ranked fifth in the South Jersey Times Top 15, retook the lead in the top of the ninth on an RBI double by Colin McAllister (3-for-6). Jake Goffredi tied the game with a double in the bottom half, then with the bases loaded and one out Braves center fielder Anthony Racobaldo’s fielder’s choice behind second brought home Goffredi with the winning run.

They were coming from behind all day. Minutemen center fielder Alex Gattinelli hit a solo home run in the top of the second. Township tacked on another run on a Mark Scarpa double in the third, and another two in the fifth.

Meanwhile, the Braves had just two hits against Chris Haruch through the first five innings.

“We’ve struggled with timely hitting all year,” Williamstown coach Jim Ambrosius said. “It’s a lot easier to hit with no one on, but we need guys to want to be in that opportunity to produce runs.”

Township third baseman John Schoelkopf seemed to all but seal the Minutemen claiming their tournament title again with a three-run homer in the top of the sixth. Williamstown then brought in Cohl Gibbs, a member of the starting rotation not often used in relief.

“We’ve been back-loaded in our schedule, so pitching’s getting some work recently,” Ambrosius said. “We didn’t have much left, and I didn’t have anyone planned to come in after Gibbs.”

Gibbs played a pivotal role following the Braves’ rally in the bottom of the sixth, and went on to surrender just one run over 3 2/3 innings to pick up the win. In the top of the eighth, Gibbs escaped a bases-loaded, one-out mess by starting a 1-2-3 double-play.

Schoelkopf led the Minutemen with three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored, while shortstop Colin McAllister added three hits, an RBI and a run scored. But the Minutemen stranded 13 baserunners on the day.

“When you get a chance to put a good team down, you’ve got to get it done,” Township coach Bill Alvaro said. “We had plenty of chances, but you’ve got to give them credit for making the plays.”

“It was huge getting out of that, and I knew the guys would back me up with the bats after it,” said Gibbs.

Keegan was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy. The home run was his only hit on the day, but it set in motion the improbable comeback.

“He woke us up, he gave us the confidence,” said Ambrosius.

“To take their tournament at their own field — it’s a huge boost for us,” Gibbs said.

Contact Kevin Kunzmann at 856-845-9470 or at sports@southjerseymedia.com